Figure 2 [artist's proof]

Jasper Johns

Color screenprint on paper

National Gallery of Art

Jasper Johns turns a simple numeral into a layered field of color and gesture, letting the figure emerge and dissolve at once. Here, the large translucent “2” is built from dense blue, violet, and red passages, so the number feels both printed and painted, precise yet alive with variation. A leading American artist of the postwar era, Johns is celebrated for transforming familiar signs into meditations on seeing, repetition, and meaning. This print would bring a bold, modern pulse to a room while rewarding a closer look with its subtle shifts of tone and texture.